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Amelia
Of all the things I thought might happen tonight, I wasn’t expecting this.
“Do you need any help?” I ask Miles as he grunts, lifting his mattress onto its side. No. The spare bed.
He stops and pins me with a glare. “Lift a finger and I spank that perfect ass.”
I stroll over and trace my finger down his chest. “Sounds like you’re threatening me with a good time.”
His eyes drift closed for a second, and he counts backward from five, then lets out a long breath before opening his eyes again. “It’s a good time we can’t have if I don’t get the mattress out of this room.” I open my mouth, but he holds up a finger to silence me. “You moved sheets and clothes and put things in my dresser after I moved it into the master. You can’t help with this. Everything is too heavy and your stomach, while beautifully big, is at risk of getting hit. So, I’m going to push this mattress through the door, then you are going to sit down while I finish everything else.” His voice softens, and he brushes his hand over my stomach. “Then I’ll bring the painter’s tape, and we can start figuring out the layout of the nursery.” He leans down and kisses me, his large hand wrapping around the side of my neck. When he pulls away, he closes his eyes again and rests his forehead against mine, his hand still on my neck.
“What’s wrong?”
His stunning green eyes open, meeting mine. His are glassy and filled with emotion. “Nothing. I’m perfect, sweetness. I’m here with you. This morning…” He trails off, voice turning raw. He clears his throat. “I wasn’t sure how to get back to this place, and I wasn’t expecting to be here tonight, but I’m so fucking happy I am. I love you, baby.”
“I love you too. Thanks for walking through the hard stuff with me.”
“Thanks for wanting me by your side. I’ll always be here with you. It’s a lot nicer when I’m walking next to you and not behind you like a creepy stalker, though.”
I laugh at that, then kiss him again, a tear trailing down my cheek as I do.
“Today has been crazy. My emotions are all over.”
“I know. Mine too.” He brushes the tear off my cheek and steps back. “Let me finish this up so we can get on to some fun things. We both need it.”
“Deal.”
He goes back to shoving the mattress through the doorway as I watch him in awe. Life is a roller coaster these days, but at least I’ve got his hand to grab through the twists and turns.
Miles might be superhuman. He moved all the furniture into the spare room by himself and barely broke a sweat. It’s almost midnight, and I should be sleeping, but my mind is racing, going over what we’ve been through, the insanity of the day, and the excitement I feel. Sometimes, it’s been hard being truly excited about baby things. Moving the nursery in here has me beyond excited, though. After Miles moved everything, we taped out where we wanted the crib, changing table, dresser, and bookshelf to go. There’s a little nook next to the closet door. It’s a smaller walk-in closet than mine, but enough of one that we can easily store our extra baby gear in there. The little nook will have the bookcase and a carpet where the baby can have tummy time and eventually play time. The crib will be kitty-corner from the nook, sitting where the head of Miles’s bed—that he never used—was. The dresser will be opposite that. And then there’s the cozy rocker. It’s a plush, light gray microfiber rocker with thick, padded arms. It looks more like a cozy sitting chair that happens to rock. There’s a footrest that goes with it. Together they are crazy comfortable. I know because it’s where I’m sitting.
We saw it on clearance when we were making our baby shower list, and since it was so comfy, we bought it then. It’s the only baby item we have in the house. Everything else is at Katie and Andy’s, but I’m ready to have it here. To set everything up.
I rest my hands on my stomach as I rock, looking around the room and seeing the endless possibilities.
“You are stunning.” Miles stands in the doorway, staring at me reverently. He walks over and hands me a glass of water, then drops to his knees in front of me. “I don’t know how I got so damn lucky.”
He nestles between the footrest and the chair, then glides his hand up my thigh and lays his head on my lap, face inches from my belly. He rubs his hand over my stomach. “Hey, baby girl. Daddy loves you. Mommy and I can’t wait to meet you.”
I run my hand through his hair as he kisses my stomach and whispers to our girl, and I smile as she kicks his hand.
He stops talking and stares at my stomach, gently caressing it with his thumb, the rest of his warm hand staying protectively in place.
“Talk to me,” I whisper.
He swallows and takes a long breath. “This last week was hard without you. These moments mean everything to me. I want to revel in this one.”
“I’m sorry,” I whisper.
He looks up at me, that dangerous gentleness in his eyes. “We have things to work through, and I’m trying to embrace all the uncertainty as we do. It’s not always easy. And I want to make sure…”
“What?”
“Are you sure this is what you want? Where you want to be? I don’t want you to rush.”
“Don’t be uncertain of my love. Please.” I brush my fingers over his scalp, tousling his fine hair as I do. “I asked you to move everything because this is what I want. It has been, but I shut it out. Now that I’ve let myself feel this joy for our daughter and let your love in, it’s healing me. I never want to shut any of it out again. I need it. Need you. Our little family.”
“So do I.” He sighs. “I could stay like this forever. Feeling her kicks. Your fingers twisted in my hair. But I’m exhausted. Can we go to bed? I need to hold you for as long as possible. I’ve got too many nights to catch up on.”
